Sandakan by-election on May 11, nomination April 27

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission has fixed May 11 for the Sandakan parliamentary by-election while nomination is on April 27 and early voting on May 7. EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun who announced the dates at a press conference here today said the by-election was expected to cost RM3.1 million.

He said the electoral roll for the seat had 39,856 ordinary voters, 270 early voters and five absentee voters (who are overseas). The EC would mobilise 770 polling staff to handle 21 polling centres with a total of 92 voting streams, he said .

The by-election is necessitated following the death of the incumbent Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt, 65, who was also Sabah Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister, on March 28 due to a heart attack.

In the 14th General Election last May, Wong, who was also state DAP chairman, won the seat with a majority of 10,098 votes. He secured 19,094 votes to defeat Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Lim Ming Ho who obtained 8,996 votes.